Discount Haunting Ground

I recently discovered Haunting Ground through a Youtube link. I immediately became interested in this game just by the look of it. Let's face it, PS2 games look sad compared to these "next-generation" systems' graphics and realism. I think Haunting Ground didn't get the recognition it deserved. Due to limited release, little advertising, and the fact that it's part of a game genre that doesn't appeal to the masses, Haunting Ground had a hard time finding its footing in the gaming world. Personally, I feel that it is one of the most intriguing games out there.

Pros:
- First off, the game is beautiful. We can just get that out of the way. The opening cinematic is stunning and vivid. The game itself is very detailed. In the beginning of the game our protagonist, Fiona Belli, wakes up in cage in what appears to be a room where slaughters take place wearing nothing but a sheet. The sheet looks like water with how wonderfully it flows and Fiona's hair looks like silk.
- There are a total of 6 stalkers in the game, meaning 6 people are out to find you and stomp you to a bloody pulp. It's always a little exciting when you encounter your next stalker in the game and get to see why exactly they're coming after you. While you might get annoyed with them, love them, are interested with them, or just think they're pretty, you might find yourself feeling sympathy for them. One prime example is the second stalker you encounter: Daniella. She's a manmade woman, and although she was created to be "perfect", she feels that she is not complete in that she cannot produce children or really experience emotions.
- You furry canine friend will be your biggest asset in the game. Hewie is a white german shepherd that you rescue fairly early on. You might get a little frustrated with his refusal to just listen to your commands when you first team up with him, but right after the first "chapter" of the game is completed it gets much easier to get him to help you out. I sure as hell know I was constantly calling on Hewie to distract the stalkers while I ran and hid in one of the many interesting and creative hiding spots.
- There is a total of one, count it, ONE loading screen in Haunting Ground. Every gamer has dreamed of a game where they don't have to wait several tedious seconds to just go to another area. The entire castle is open-ended and seamless. Every door opens and every room has something inside of it that you want or need.
- You might genuinely be scared for Fiona's life when a stalker is on your tail. There's really no point in sticking around to fight a stalker unless you know Hewie's got your back. Unless you run away from the stalker right away, Fiona's panic meter (which isn't an actual visible gauge on the screen or any of the menus, nor is the stamina's status) will start rising rapidly. Even though there are no meters or gauges, it is made clear through Fiona's behavior and the actual screen what is happening. The more panicked she becomes, the more distorted and fuzzy the screen becomes. Once Fiona goes into full panic mode, she'll start running frantically of her own will, and all you can do is steer her in the right direction and hope she doesn't hit any walls. If a stalker hits her while she's in this mode, she will fall to the floor and slowly crawl helplessly around for a few seconds while you're hoping that she gets up before she gets hit again and dies. When Fiona's stamina is depleting, she'll start running slower until she's just barely trotting along. This is especially tense when she's being chased.
- Saving is easy. You save at clocks placed randomly throughout the game. You can hear them ticking if you're within a close distance of them, so they're not impossible to find. Also, if you find a bevy of items or a save clock, you know something bad might be coming up soon.

Cons:
- You won't ever understand the storyline fully no matter how hard you try. Fiona possesses something called Azoth within her body. It is described as being the essence of life. Other than that, you're not too sure what it is, but you know everyone REALLY wants it. No one knows what it does, they just want it.
- There will be many times when you're not sure what the hell is happening. I thankfully watched some gameplay online, so I already knew the castle's layout and what items I needed before I even had the game. However, there are barely any clues in the game to tell you where to go next. You can read documents that'll give you little lessons on things such as luminescents, little floating blue lights that may cause Fiona to panic if they bump into her, or homunculi, little prototypes of what would be manmade humans like Daniella. Neither of these two things are helpful clues at all. You can figure out for yourself what luminescents do and the homunculi serve no purpose other than scaring Fiona and temporarily immobilizing her. No documents really tell you what items you might want to pick up. Every time you open a new room you'll find something in there like an object, platekey, or regular key that will lead you to your next location, but you'll have no idea why you're going there.
- The maps are useless. You'll never look at them. You're better off without them. I don't know if I'm just slow, but I've yet to find a little "You Are Here" symbol on the maps, and the rooms are colored green and sometimes pink. However, I have no clue what these colors are indicating. It may say it somewhere, I just haven't figured it out. The biggest joke of a map is the one to the forest in the second half of the game. The map has literally a little sliver of a path at the top of it, and the rest is just trees. If there's even a "You Are Here" symbol, you sure as hell can't find it here.
- As mentioned above, your stamina and panic is not a visible meter. While this might not be a problem for all, some people might want to see a concrete amount of life Fiona has. It may not be shown because she gains back stamina and loses stamina frequently, but I can't be positive that's the reason. The only con about her stamina is that there are only a few places that you can recover stamina in. There're sinks around the castle that Fiona can drink from to get her status restored, but I can only remember finding three in the game. While she can reduce panic or gain stamina through items, these are sometimes hard to come by.

All and all, it's a great game. Don't let the little hang ups stop you from playing. The game has great replayability due to its multiple endings, unlockable content (alternate costumes for Fiona and Hewie, concept art, character models, etc.), alternate cutscenes, hard mode (which is available after beating the game once), and accessories such as boots and chokers that can be made through platekeys or through a minigame involving the medallions you find all around the castle that can improve Fiona's performance. This is one of my all-time favorite PS2 games and I still enjoy playing it after owning it for several months.Get more detail about Haunting Ground.